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1 Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology 2013 American Psychological Association 2013, Vol. 19, No. 3, /13/$12.00 DOI: /a Day Laborers Life Satisfaction: The Role of Familismo, Spirituality, Work, Health, and Discrimination Lizette Ojeda and Brandy Piña-Watson Texas A&M University Limited research exists on day laborers mental health. This study identifies relevant factors that influence the life satisfaction of 143 predominantly undocumented Latino male day laborers. Findings demonstrated the importance of familismo, spirituality, work satisfaction, perceived health, and perceived discrimination on life satisfaction. Given the deleterious impact discrimination can have on mental health, we examined whether perceived discrimination s role on life satisfaction would be buffered by familismo, spirituality, work satisfaction, and perceived health. Among these variable, spirituality and perceived health were identified as protective factors against the role of perceived discrimination on life satisfaction. Implications for research and practice with Latino male day laborers are discussed. Keywords: Latinos, immigrants, cultural values, discrimination, life satisfaction Latino immigrants as a whole are a vulnerable population, particularly given today s anti-immigrant sociopolitical climate and its negative impact on mental health (Sullivan & Rehm, 2005; Zuniga, 2002). In particular, undocumented immigrants tend to experience more immigration-related stress than documented Latinos, such as fear of deportation, language barriers, social isolation, relationship and family stress, and acculturative stress (Arbona et al., 2010). Still, an even more vulnerable group of predominantly undocumented recently immigrated Latinos is day laborers (Walter, Bourgois, & Loinaz, 2004). Despite research demonstrating stress related to the immigration process has been linked to anxiety and depression (Cavazos-Rehg, Zayas, & Spitznagel, 2007; Hovey, 2000), little is known about the mental health outcomes for Latino day laborers specifically. According to the National Day Labor Survey, approximately 117,600 day laborers seek work opportunities on any given day largely in urban settings (Valenzuela, Theodore, Meléndez, & Gonzalez, 2006). For most day laborers, their main reason for immigrating is fueled by financial difficulties in their country of origin (Walter et al., 2004). Limitations imposed on their work opportunities by the legal system leave day laborers with few options to pursue their livelihood and send remittances to their family back home (Valenzuela et al., 2006). As a result, most of these relatively recently arrived men seek income by standing openly mainly near businesses, home improvement store parking lots, and street corners competing for a day s worth of work for Lizette Ojeda and Brandy Piña-Watson, Department of Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University. This research project was supported in part by a grant from the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health. We thank Kristine Molina for providing insightful feedback on this article. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lizette Ojeda, Department of Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University, MS 4225, College Station, TX tamu.edu under the table pay provided mostly by homeowners/renters and construction contractors (Leclere & Lopez, 2012; Valenzuela et al., 2006). Life Satisfaction A limitation of the literature on day laborers and Latino men in general is its primary focus on pathology and dysfunction such as alcoholism, drug abuse, and HIV risk (Fragoso & Kashubeck, 2000; Organista & Ehrlich, 2008; Valdez, Cepeda, Negi, & Kaplan, 2010; Valenzuela et al., 2006; Walter et al., 2004). Revealing factors that contribute to positive functioning is just as critical as understanding the etiology of mental illness (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Although the presence of well-being does not indicate the absence of dysfunction (Ryan & Deci, 2001), the positive psychology literature argues well-being can protect against dis-ease. For instance, satisfaction with life has protected against depression and substance use (Furr & Funder, 1998; Zullig, Valois, Huebner, Oeltmann, & Drane, 2001). Satisfaction with life, a component of subjective well-being, is the cognitive appraisal of one s life based one s own standards (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). Despite the notion that satisfaction with life varies by culture and is influenced by cultural norms (Diener, Lucas, & Oishi, 2001), no known published studies have examined factors that contribute to day laborer s life satisfaction. Culturally responsive mental health research can be facilitated by examining life satisfaction because it grants respect to understanding factors that contribute to day laborers personal meaning of and criteria for having a satisfying life. As such, this study seeks to understand how theoretically relevant factors associated with immigrant adaptation contribute to life satisfaction among Latino day laborers. Social-Ecological Framework A social-ecological framework (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) is suitable for addressing day laborers life satisfaction because of its emphasis on cultural, societal, environmental, and individual fac- 270

2 LATINO DAY LABORERS LIFE SATISFACTION 271 tors on immigrant adaptation (Serdarevic & Chronister, 2005). Within this theoretical framework, multiple levels of systems spanning from the individual to the environment can put day laborers at risk of maladjustment or promote well-being. For example, at the societal/macrosystemic level, anti-immigrant sentiments may negatively affect day laborers life satisfaction, whereas adherence to cultural norms may serve as protective factors. At the community/microsystemic level, unjust employment may contribute to day laborers feeling less satisfied with their lives whereas work satisfaction may promote satisfaction with life in general. Individual factors also come into play and may include health conditions. The current study is guided by the socialecological framework and examines the role of societal factors (discrimination, cultural norms of familismo, and spirituality), the community factor of work satisfaction, and the individual factor of perceived health on day laborers life satisfaction. Societal Factors: Discrimination and Cultural Norms Discrimination. Many Latinos believe discrimination hinders their success in the United States (Pew Hispanic Center, 2010). Furthermore, Latino immigrants have perceived experiencing more discrimination than U.S.-born Latinos (Finch, Kolody, & Vega, 2000). Latino day laborers are vulnerable to discrimination especially because they are often not welcomed to pursue their method for seeking work in the United States. Their visibility in public settings and the negative portrayals held toward them may trigger overt discrimination from the larger community and mistreatment by police/security guards while they search for work (Valenzuela et al., 2006). Organized anti-latino immigrant groups have even been known to pass by day labor sites simply to display racism (Varsanyi, 2008). For day laborers, not knowing whether they will be approached with racism or with a work opportunity by passerbys may potentially trigger hypervigilence, paranoia, and anxiety. Research has demonstrated that discrimination is associated with poor mental health outcomes (Williams & Williams-Morris, 2000). For instance, a meta-analysis study found that perceived discrimination was positively related to greater depression and distress but negatively related to well-being (Pascoe & Smart Richman, 2009). Interestingly, this study found that recent discrimination had more significant negative effects on mental health than lifetime discrimination. This is particularly relevant to Latino day laborers because as relatively recent immigrants, their exposure to discrimination may be more recent than that of U.S. born Latinos. Despite these findings, little is known about how discrimination may affect their satisfaction with life in particular. Given that discrimination can affect how individuals feel about themselves (Portes & Rumbaut, 2001), speculations can be made that discrimination may also affect how day laborers feel about their lives and whether or not they are satisfied with life. In essence, discrimination may convey a message to day laborers that their life is less than ideal based on negative treatment, which in turn may be internalized and result in decreased life satisfaction. Familismo. The literature suggests adherence to Latino cultural values can promote mental health (Kim, Soliz, Orellana, & Alamilla, 2009). One of the most studied cultural values is familismo, which emphasizes the importance of loyalty, reciprocity, and solidarity toward one s family (Marín, & Marín, 1991). Familismo is a multidimensional construct that can be exhibited attitudinally (e.g., belief in family interconnectedness) and carried out behaviorally (e.g., family contact) (Steidel & Contreras, 2003). Portrayal of behavioral familismo can be limited for day laborers because for many, the majority of family remains in their country of origin. As such, attitudinal familismo may tap into components that may contribute to well-being under circumstances where behavioral enactments of familismo may be more challenging. Familismo has been shown to promote mental health. For instance, recently immigrated Latinos who experienced family cohesion prior to immigration were less likely to engage in hazardous alcohol consumption (Dillon, de la Rosa, Sanchez, & Schwartz, 2012). In contrast, family cultural conflict has been related to lower levels of perceived mental health among a nationally represented Latino sample (Mulvaney-Day, Alegría, & Sribney, 2007). In addition, limited studies examining well-being specifically have found familismo may serve as a protective factor. For instance, a study with Mexican American adolescents found family support was related to life satisfaction (Edwards & Lopez, 2006). Although it is implied that family is important for Latino day laborers, given that a need to support family financially is a major reason for immigration (Walter, Bourgois, Loinaz, & Schillinger, et al., 2002), it is not understood how familismo as a construct relates to Latino day laborers mental health. Given that strong family ties have been related to better adjustment post recent immigration (Baca Zinn, 1994), familismo may have the potential to promote life satisfaction among Latino day laborers. Spirituality. Scholars have noted the importance of spirituality for Latino healing (Comas-Díaz, 2006). For instance, religious salience has been related to lower levels of depression among Mexican-origin adults (Ellison, Finch, Ryan, & Salinas, 2009). Furthermore, religious attendance has been associated with wellbeing among Mexican Americans (Levin, Markides, & Ray, 1996). Among Latino immigrants in particular, religious coping has been linked to lower acculturative stress (Sanchez, Dillon, Ruffin, & de la Rosa, 2012). Indeed, spirituality may contribute to well-being because it helps increase feelings of control (Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999). Such sense of control may be important for day laborers who feel they have limited power based on their social status. At the same time, turning to a higher power may serve as an important source of strength for day laborers, particularly if they do not have a close social and family network established. In addition, spirituality has provided Latinos with a sense of meaning and purpose (Muñoz & Mendelson, 2005), which in turn may potentially contribute to satisfaction with life. For instance, one study found proreligious Latinos demonstrated high levels of life satisfaction (Merrill, Steffen, & Hunter, 2012). Based on previous research, it is expected that spirituality would also promote life satisfaction among Latino day laborers. Community Factor: Work Satisfaction The role of work is important to the male identity and therefore may influence their mental health (Williams, 2003). As men, day laborers may experience distress from not having a stable job (Rocha, Hause Crowell, & McCarter, 2006) and shame about their social position in the United States (Walter et al., 2002), which may take a toll on their masculinity, given their responsibility as primary breadwinner. When they do succeed in obtaining work for

3 272 OJEDA AND PIÑA-WATSON the day, they may be exploited, verbally and physically insulted, and denied basic rights such as breaks, food, and water by their employers (Valenzuela et al., 2006). When day laborers are approached with work opportunities, they re lives are in the hands of their employer-of-the-day as they are transported in their vehicle to worksites. It is not uncommon for them to be abandoned and not taken back to the day labor site after finishing work tasks (Valenzuela et al.). In addition, day laborers are paid poorly for performing often-hazardous work and even encounter wage theft (Valenzuela et al.). Not surprisingly, these men often feel helpless about their work options and about how they are treated on the job (Walter et al., 2002) and such helplessness may negatively impact mental health. Although a study found a connection between job satisfaction and life satisfaction among full-time employees (Rode, 2012), it is unknown whether similar findings would be found among individuals with unstable work such as day laborers. Individual Factor: Perceived Health Not only is obtaining work important for day laborers, but being healthy enough to perform exceptionally well on the job is just as critical (Walter et al., 2002). With the high competition for being selected by potential employers, being viewed among the healthiest in the competing day labor group is important to be perceived as physically able to do strenuous work tasks (Walter et al., 2004). The often physically laborious and hazardous work tasks day laborers perform puts them at risk for work injury and decreased health, and in turn may lead them to miss work (Walter et al., 2002). Having poor health conditions may hinder day laborers feasibility for obtaining work, which in turn may impede them from pursuing their livelihood. This contention is further supported by research that found poor physical health is related to poor mental health among Latinos (Ortega, Feldman, Canino, Steinman, & Alegría, 2006) and that perceived health is related to life satisfaction (Zullig, Ward, & Horn, 2006). Guided by the social-ecological framework, the present study seeks to shed light on culturally relevant factors that may play a role on the life satisfaction of day laborers. We hypothesized that familismo would contribute to life satisfaction grounded on the significance of family solidarity for many Latinos and that many day laborers are in the United States without their family (Duke, Bourdeau, & Hovey, 2010). Given the centrality of God for many day laborers (Valenzuela et al., 2006), we predicted spirituality would positively affect life satisfaction. Further, based on the importance of work for day laborers, we expected satisfaction with work would contribute to satisfaction with life. In addition, the importance of good health is relevant to day laborers, as the often-laborious work they do requires good health. Thus, we hypothesized that day laborers that perceived themselves to be in good health would be more satisfied with life. Further, because many day laborers regularly experience discrimination, we hypothesized perceived discrimination would decrease life satisfaction. Finally, given the deleterious impact discrimination can have on mental health, we expected the role of perceived discrimination on life satisfaction would be buffered by high levels of familismo, spirituality, work satisfaction, and perceived health. Participants Methods Participants were 143 Latino immigrant men who worked as day laborers in central Texas. The majority of participants reported immigrating from México (66.4%), followed by Honduras (14.7%), Guatemala (9.8%), El Salvador (7.0%), Uruguay (.7%), Peru (.7%), & Dominican Republic (.7%). Participant s ages ranged from 18 to 73 years (M 40.75; SD 12.48). Last month s self-reported income ranged from $0 to $3,000 (M ; SD ). Years of formal education ranged from 0 to 19 years (M 6.48; SD 3.47). The majority of participants family remained in their country of origin (78%). Self-reported immigration status included 71% undocumented immigrants. Most participants were monolingual Spanish speakers. Instruments Familismo. The five-item Pan-Hispanic Familism Scale (Villarreal, Blozis, & Widaman, 2005) evaluates participants attitudes about the importance of family. The Spanish version of this scale was used. A sample item included I am proud of my family. Items were measured on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1(strongly disagree) to5(strongly agree). Participants responses were averaged, with higher scores indicating more endorsement of familismo. A one-factor confirmatory factor analysis has demonstrated scale validity in both English and Spanish (Villarreal et al., 2005). This validity study demonstrated an acceptable internal consistency level with Spanish-speaking Latino adults in the United States (.82). The reliability analysis for the current study yielded an alpha of.69. Spirituality. The six-item Daily Spiritual Experiences subscale from the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness and Spirituality (Johnstone, Yoon, Franklin, Schoop, & Hinkebein, 2009) measures one s experience of transcendence in daily life and experience of interaction with a higher power. A sample item includes I feel God s presence. The original version of the scale was validated in English. A Spanish version has not been used in previous studies with Latinos, so the English version of this scale was translated through the back translation procedure to ensure accurate translation into Spanish. This new Spanish version of this scale was used and responses were given using a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to6(many times a day). A previous study using the English version reported internal consistency of.88 (Johnstone et al., 2009). The alpha coefficient for the Spanish version in the current study was.83. Work satisfaction. Work satisfaction was assessed based on the Spanish version of the two-item job satisfaction scale (Valdivia & Flores, 2012) that asked participants about their current level of satisfaction with their job and employer. A sample item includes How satisfied are you with your work? Participants responded to the items using a 10-point scale ranging from 0 (completely dissatisfied) to10(completely satisfied). A mean score was derived from the two items, with higher scores indicating higher levels of contentment with one s current work. A previous study used back translation to translate the scale into Spanish for use with Latino immigrants, which yielded an internal consistency score of.91 (Valdivia & Flores, 2012). Because of being a two-item mea-

4 LATINO DAY LABORERS LIFE SATISFACTION 273 sure, a correlation was conducted to determine consistency. The correlation between the two items was r.66. Perceived health. Perception of current health was measured using a single item asking How do you feel about your health? This item was measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (very bad) to5(very good) and was created for the use of this study in Spanish. Perceived discrimination. The 14-item Perceived Discrimination Scale (Flores et al., 2008) measures perceived discrimination in everyday life due to minority status. The Spanish version of this scale was used and responses were provided on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to4(very often). Flores and colleagues (2008) provided evidence for validity for use of this 14-item Spanish scale when used with Mexican origin adults though an exploratory factor analysis. They also reported strong reliability of the scale (.92). For purposes of the current study and because of the high number of items within this scale, a principal component analysis was performed to determine validity of the items as a single construct. Five iterations were necessary to form the final scale. Ten of the items were dropped throughout the iterations. Eight items were omitted because of insufficient commonality scores and two items that had a complex structure. Overall the final model met all criteria for fit (KMO.78; Bartlett s Test of Sphericity , df 6, p.000) and showed one construct (69% variance accounted for) comprised of four of the original 14 items, all with acceptable communalities eigenvalues. The mean value of the remaining four items was calculated to obtain the variable score, with higher mean scores indicating higher levels of perceived discrimination in daily life as a result of minority status. A sample items includes How often do others lack respect for you because of your race or ethnicity? The alpha coefficient for scale in the current study was.85. Life satisfaction. The five-item Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985) measures life satisfaction as a cognitivejudgmental process. The Spanish version of this scale was used and responses were provided on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to7(strongly agree). A higher score indicated high satisfaction, whereas low scores indicated low satisfaction. A sample item includes In most ways my life is close to my ideal. This scale has demonstrated concurrent validity by strong positive correlations with other measures of life satisfaction (Post, Van Leeuwen, Van Koppenhagen, & De Groat, 2012), and divergent validity was negatively correlated with a measure of depression (Brière, Vallerand, Blais, & Pelletier, 1995). Acceptable internal consistency and validity with Spanish-speaking adolescents has also been demonstrated (Atienza, Pons, Balaguer, & Garcia-Merita, 2000). The reliability analysis for the Spanish version in this study yielded an alpha of.71. Demographics. Demographic information was obtained about the participant s immigration status, last month s income, education level, age, and whether or not their family remained in their country of origin. Procedure Participants were recruited using a community-sampling method at two informal day labor sites (a home improvement store parking lot and a street corner) in the Southwest. Men were standing at the labor sites waiting for passerbys to drive up and approach them with a paid job task for the day. We first approached a few men to introduce ourselves and our study. Gaining the trust of a few men facilitated the data collection process with this community. Nearly all men at the sites welcomed our presence and were willing to participate. Only a few men stated that they did not want to participate because it might interfere with their focus on a job prospect. The purpose of the study was explained, and participants were also given an information sheet with the purpose, risks, and benefits of their participation. The Institutional Review Board-approved anonymous questionnaire was administered verbally to all participants in Spanish by bilingual/bicultural research assistants and took approximately 30 min to complete. Participants were provided with drinks and snacks during survey completion. They were also compensated with $10 cash for participation. Results The means, standard deviations, reliability coefficients, and correlations for all variables are presented in Table 1. Analyses show a statistically significant correlation between life satisfaction and the predictor variables: familismo (r.40; p.000), spirituality (r.30; p.000), work satisfaction (r.37; p.000), perceived health (r.28; p.000), and perceived discrimination (r.36; p.000). Hierarchical Regression Analysis A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine the influence of Block 1: familismo, spirituality, work satisfaction, and perceived health; Block 2: discrimination; and Block 3: the interactions between familismo, spirituality, work satisfaction, and perceived heath with perceived discrimination on day laborers life satisfaction. Regression assumptions were tested, and no violations were identified. All variables were centered before creating interaction terms. In the first step, familismo (.30, p.000), work satisfaction (.23, p.002), and perceived health (.17, p.02) were unique significant predictors of life satisfaction, whereas spirituality was not (.14, p.065). The predictors collectively accounted for 30% of the variance in life satisfaction, F(4, 148) 15.07, p.000. In the second step, perceived discrimi- Table 1 Means, Standard Deviations, Alpha Coefficients, and Correlations for Measured Variables Variable Perceived health 2. Familismo Work satisfaction Spirituality Discrimination Life Satisfaction a M SD Note. Perceived health does not have an alpha coefficient due to being a single-item construct. a Pearson correlation coefficient. p.05. p.01.

5 274 OJEDA AND PIÑA-WATSON nation was entered. As expected, this addition significantly added to the variance and increased the R 2 to 36%, F(5, 148) 15.73, p.000. In the second step, familismo (.29, p.000), spirituality (.15, p.044), work satisfaction (.17, p.023), perceived health (.15, p.027), and perceived discrimination (.25, p.000) were all unique significant predictors of life satisfaction. Finally, to test the possibility of moderators for perceived discrimination on life satisfaction, step three included the interaction effects between familismo, spirituality, work satisfaction, and perceived health with perceived discrimination were entered. The addition of these variable accounted for an increased R 2 to 39%, F(9, 148) 10.05, p.000. Statistically significant predictors in the final model were familismo (.29, p.000), spirituality (.15, p.032), work satisfaction (.20, p.007), perceived health (.14, p.041), and perceived discrimination (.27, p.000), as well as the interactions between perceived health and perceived discrimination (.16, p.021) and spirituality and perceived discrimination (.17, p.045). See Table 2 for a detailed account of the regression analysis. Interaction Effects An interaction effect demonstrated the impact of perceived discrimination on life satisfaction varied based on endorsement of either high or low levels of spirituality (see Figure 1). Among Latino day laborers who endorsed higher levels of spirituality, the impact of experiencing perceived discrimination were less pronounced than for day laborers with low levels of spirituality. These results indicate that having high levels of spirituality protected against perceived discrimination s role on life satisfaction for Latino male day laborers. Table 2 Hierarchical Regression Analysis B SE R 2 R 2 Step 1 Work satisfaction Perceived health Familismo Spirituality Step 2 Work satisfaction Perceived health Familismo Spirituality Discrimination Step 3 Work satisfaction Perceived health Familismo Spirituality Discrimination Work satisfaction Discrimination Perceived health Discrimination Familismo Discrimination Spirituality Discrimination p.05. p.01. p Low Discrimination High Discrimination A further interaction effect demonstrated the role of perceived discrimination on life satisfaction varied based on endorsement of either high or low levels of perceived health (see Figure 2). Among Latino day laborers who endorsed higher levels of perceived health, the impact of experiencing perceived discrimination was less prominent than for day laborers with low levels of perceived health. This indicates that high levels of perceived health protected against perceived discrimination s role on life satisfaction for Latino male day laborers. Discussion Low Spirituality High Spirituality Figure 1. Interaction effect between spirituality and perceived discrimination on life satisfaction. Limited empirical quantitative research exists on immigrant populations, especially Latino day laborers. Given the current sociopolitical climate toward immigrants (Zuniga, 2002), it is important to identify factors that play an important role on the mental health of this underserved and vulnerable predominantly undocumented immigrant group. The findings of this study shed light on the influence of familismo, spirituality, work satisfaction, perceived health, and perceived discrimination on Latino male day laborers satisfaction with life. This study also contributes to our understanding of whether the negative effect of perceived discrimination on life satisfaction is buffered by familismo, spirituality, work satisfaction, and perceived health Low Discrimination High Discrimination Low Health High Health Figure 2. Interaction effect between perceived health and perceived discrimination on life satisfaction.

6 LATINO DAY LABORERS LIFE SATISFACTION 275 Much of the literature on day laborers has discussed the experiences of discrimination, but virtually no studies have quantitatively examined its role on their well-being. As expected, perceived discrimination was related to lower life satisfaction. In addition, the Latino cultural values of familismo and spirituality were related to life satisfaction, findings that have consistently been found to influence Latino mental health (Ayón, Marsiglia, & Bermudez-Parsai, 2010; Falicov, 2009). This demonstrates the importance of maintaining heritage cultural values in having satisfying lives among Latino day laborers. Our finding on the importance of work satisfaction to day laborers life satisfaction is supported by the Social Cognitive Model of Well-Being (Lent, 2004), which suggests that satisfaction in a given domain (i.e., work) can lead to overall life satisfaction. Furthermore, the significant role of perceived health on life satisfaction provides support for the importance of being healthy to day laborer s well-being. Because research has shown that discrimination can have deleterious effects on people s lives (Williams & Williams-Morris, 2000) and that Latino day laborers often experience discrimination (Walter et al., 2004), we explored if familismo, spirituality, work satisfaction, and perceived health would protect against the negative effects of perceived discrimination on life satisfaction. Only spirituality and perceived health significantly buffered against the role of perceived discrimination on life satisfaction. In regards to spirituality, scholars have noted its importance for many Latinos (Falicov, 2009). Such importance is demonstrated in the protective role spirituality had against the effect of discrimination on life satisfaction. Findings suggest that when Latino day laborers feel connected to a higher power, their sense of satisfaction with their life is less likely to be affected by experiencing discrimination. Spirituality may serve as an adaptive mechanism for coping with discrimination. For instance, a study on African American youth suggested that spirituality might promote resilience against discrimination (Scott, 2003). Perhaps day laborers who rely on a higher power for strength and guidance may be less susceptible to letting discrimination affect their well-being. Based on this finding, studies that directly examine the role of spiritual coping should be examined, as research has found it may protect against the negative effects of discrimination (Horton & Loukas, 2013). Our findings also indicated that perceived health protected against the negative effect perceived discrimination had on life satisfaction. The importance of perceived health on life satisfaction has also been found in previous research (Zullig et al., 2006). Scholars have also noted that racial/ethnic minority men who are economically disadvantaged experience job insecurity and adverse work conditions are particularly vulnerable to deleterious health outcomes (Williams, 2003). This places day laborers at high risk for experiencing negative mental health, particularly in the face of discrimination. Within the context of masculinity, perhaps being healthy may be a symbol of strength for these men and therefore helps them withstand the negative effects of discrimination on their life satisfaction. In essence, a strong sense of masculinity may protect against discrimination (Walter et al., 2004). Moreover, given that day laborers main focus is to find work, perceived health may override the negative effect discrimination has on life satisfaction because without good health they are less likely to obtain work opportunities. On the other hand, experiencing discrimination in and of itself will not necessarily hinder day laborers from achieving their main goal of finding work, as would poor health. A such, through helping to augment health, mental and physical health professionals can work toward helping to improve day laborers life satisfaction despite the many instances of discrimination they likely endure as a function of their social position in U.S. society. Unexpectedly, familismo did not significantly moderate the relation between discrimination and life satisfaction. Despite the importance of family for Latinos (Marín & Marín, 1991), there are several reasons why familismo may not have buffered against perceived discrimination. One possibility is that because many of these men immigrate to the United States without their family (Valenzuela et al., 2006), perhaps having their family s presence and support is more important than simply valuing family. Our measure of familismo measured attitudinal familismo (beliefs about family systems) but not behavioral familismo (e.g., family contact). Research argues for the need to include behavioral measures of familismo that tap into actual enactments of belief systems (Comeau, 2012). As such, perhaps the presences of family when day laborers come home after a day s work may help protect against discrimination, especially if they receive emotional support through their family s presence. This possibility is supported by research that indicated social support decreased the harmful effects of discrimination on Latinos health (Finch & Vega, 2003). Thus, future research should examine how other familial factors such as family support may moderate the role of perceived discrimination on day laborers life satisfaction. Contrary to our hypothesis, work satisfaction did not significantly moderate the relation between discrimination and life satisfaction. This was unexpected given previous research has found that Latinos who perceived discrimination at work had lower levels of job satisfaction (Sanchez & Brock, 1996). Further research is needed to determine if other mechanisms come into effect within the work domain to protect Latino day laborers against the negative effects of discrimination on life satisfaction. Though Latinos have a high likelihood of experiencing discrimination, especially at work (Sanchez & Brock, 1996), being satisfied with the work that day laborers engage in may not be enough to protect against the often intense and unpredictable occurrences of discrimination in and outside of the workplace. Indeed, the ability to provide financially for family is of utmost importance for Latino men (Walter et al., 2004). If they are more confident in their ability to have stable sufficient income, they may fulfill one of their masculine values of being the primary family breadwinner, perhaps making the encounters of discrimination more tolerable. Given that Latino immigrants may view work as a need for survival (Flores et al., 2011) and not necessarily as a need for personal fulfillment, work satisfaction may not be the driving force that protects day laborers from discrimination. Other work-related factors such as number of hours worked, job security, and consistency may be more important. Several limitations of this study should be noted. First, a measure of masculinity was not included. This is an important construct for future research to include, as it may provide further insight into the unique issue of Latino male day laborers mental health. Also, health was assessed based on the participant s perception. Although how good these men perceive their health to be is important information to capture, it seemed physically evident to the researchers during data collection that some men who reported having very good health did not appear as such. It is possible that

7 276 OJEDA AND PIÑA-WATSON admitting to a less than ideal health would have taken a toll on these men s sense of masculinity and self-esteem. As such, a more objective form of measuring health indicators (e.g., BMI, physical symptoms) should also be included. A further limitation is the administration of questionnaires verbally. Particularly, the personal nature of the questions asked may have made participants more hesitant in providing vulnerable responses orally. Furthermore, because the majority of men had low educational levels and varying reading comprehension abilities, some men had difficulty providing responses on a Likert scale. Thus, collecting quantitative data with the day labor population can cause psychometric challenges. This study is also limited in its ability to examine Latino ethnic group differences because of a restricted sample size. Furthermore, the generalizability of findings should be considered with caution, as participants were from an urban geographic location in which there is a large Latino population. Discrimination and work satisfaction, for instance, may be experienced differently among day laborers in rural or new receiving communities (e.g., Missouri, North Carolina). Future research should conduct similar studies with diverse groups of day laborers such as by geographic region and Latino ethnic group. Given the exploratory nature of this study, additional empirical studies are needed to contribute to a theoretical framework of Latino day laborer s mental health. Despite the limitations, this study advances the field s limited understanding of Latino male day laborers mental health. The focus on positive psychological functioning, specifically life satisfaction, is a unique contribution to the literature, given that the majority of research on Latinos focuses on pathology. This study can inform positive psychology interventions, which have been effective in enhancing well-being and decreasing depression (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). In addition, identifying factors that influence day laborer s life satisfaction has the potential to serve as protective factors against maladjustment and is beneficial from a prevention standpoint. As with Latinos in general (Alegría et al., 2002), day laborers are likely to underutilize mental health care. Thus, well-being research can guide preventative care and potentially lower incidences of psychopathology. In addition, given that prevention is more cost-effective than intervention, well-being research can inform stakeholders about factors that contribute to day laborers mental health and fewer resources can be used to treat disease. In summary, this preliminary study has identified some factors that are important to day laborers lives and can help guide practitioner s treatment plan to not only decrease dysfunction but to improve well-being. As such, practitioners may focus on how discrimination affects this marginalized group s daily lives. In addition, clinicians should conceptualize day laborers through an interconnected ethnicity and masculinity lens, given the importance of understanding intersectionality (Cole, 2009). Culturally appropriate implications should be highly regarded because as Latino male day laborers, this vulnerable community is less likely to engage in help seeking behaviors compared to other groups (Ortega & Alegría, 2002; Vega, Kolody, Aguilar-Gaxiola, & Catalano, 1999). References Alegría, M., Canino, G., Rios, R., Vera, M., Calderon, J., Rusch, D., & Ortega, A. N. (2002). Inequalities in use of specialty mental health services among Latino, African Americans, and Non-Latino Whites. Psychiatric Services, 53, doi: /appi.ps Arbona, C., Olvera, N., Rodriguez, N., Hagan, J., Linares, A., & Wiesner, M. (2010). Acculturative stress among documented and undocumented Latino immigrants in the United States. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 32, doi: / Atienza, F. L., Pons, D., Balaguer, I., & Garcia-Merita, M. L. (2000). Propiedades psicométricas de la Escala de Satisfacción con la Vida en adolescentes, Psicothema, 12, 3312oth. Ayón, C., Marsiglia, F. F., & Bermudez-Parsai, M. (2010). Latino family mental health: Exploring the role of discrimination and familismo. Journal of Community Psychology, 38, doi: /jcop Baca Zinn, M. (1994). Adaptation and continuity in Mexican-origin families. In R. L. Taylor (Ed.), Minority families in the United States: A multicultural perspective (pp ). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Brière, N. M., Vallerand, R. J., Blais, M. R., & Pelletier, L. G. (1995). Développement et validation d une mesure de motivation intrinsèque et extrinsèque et d amotivation en contexte sportif: L echelle de motivation dans les sports (ems). Journal International de Psychologie du Sport, 26, Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Cavazos-Rehg, P. A., Zayas, L. H., & Spitznagel, E. L. (2007). Legal status, emotional well-being and subjective health status of Latino immigrants. Journal of the National Medical Association, 99, Cole, E. R. (2009). Intersectionality and research in psychology. American Psychologist, 64, doi: /a Comas-Díaz, L. (2006). Latino healing: The integration of ethnic psychology into psychotherapy. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 43, doi: / Comeau, J. (2012). Race/ethnicity and family contact: Toward a behavioral measure of familialism. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 34, doi: / Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, doi: /s jpa4901_13 Diener, E., Lucas, R. E., & Oishi, S. (2001). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and life satisfaction. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp ). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, doi: / Dillon, F. R., De La Rosa, M., Sanchez, M., & Schwartz, S. (2012). Pre-immigration family cohesion and drug/alcohol abuse among recent Latino immigrants. The Family Journal, 20, doi: / Duke, M. R., Bourdeau, B., & Hovey, J. D. (2010). Day laborers and occupational stress: Testing the Migrant Stress Inventory with a Latino day laborer population. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 16, doi: /a Edwards, L. M., & Lopez, S. J. (2006). Perceived family support, acculturation, and life satisfaction in Mexican American youth: A mixed methods exploration. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53, doi: / Ellison, C. G., Finch, B. K., Ryan, D. N., & Salinas, J. J. (2009). Religious involvement and depressive symptoms among Mexican-origin adults in California. Journal of Community Psychology, 37, doi: /jcop Falicov, C. J. (2009). Religion and spiritual traditions in immigrant fami-

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